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| Scene Title | Pirates on the Playground |
|---|---|
| Synopsis | Delilah and Liz meet up with Walter and Aura just for some relaxation. |
| Date | April 9, 2021 |
Playground near Winslow-Crawford
It's a nice day out. A bit cool, but nothing a sweatshirt can't handle. The playground in the park has a few kids in it, but not so many that Elisabeth and Aurora's bodyguards are twitchy. The massive man-mountain that is Mike stands several yards distant, just enough that he can keep an eye on both Elisabeth herself and the children. Aura's guard is on the other side of the play area, a petite brunette with watchful eyes on the surroundings and the children specifically.
Sipping from the lidded mug in her hand, Elisabeth offers a grin at Delilah. "I'm glad Walter was interested. Aurora's been asking about seeing him a lot lately. I'm not really sure why." Her blue eyes are thoughtful as they both watch the kids — right now, there's a contest on the swings happening. Aurora at nearly 9 years old has come a long way since they arrived back. She is still a quiet, watchful child but there are many more days now where she's just a normal kid, laughing in the playground with a friend.
"How've you guys been?"
"Can't complain, I guess?" Delilah sits back with a small sigh of air through her nose. Arms crossed against the chilly April breeze, she lifts a brow towards Liz. "I was…. surprised he said yes, actually. He and Matthew are attached at the hip a little too much sometimes. Not that that's bad, but… y'know. He's getting spicy now." Friends are nice to have and keep, despite yourself. "You?"
At the swings, the contest seems a little neck and neck. Or, foot and foot, considering that Walter is putting all his effort into getting higher than Aurora next to him. Physics can only help so much, and she's lighter than him.
"Heh," Elisabeth chuckles quietly. "I'm somewhat surprised myself. He's reaching an age where the little girl tagging along after him is going to be old quick." She sips her coffee, and then shrugs a little in return.
"We're doing all right. Things are… busy," is how she chooses to phrase it. And it's not simply work things. But she doesn't really want to sour Delilah's day with most of it. "Aura's struggling," she admits. "Ever since the attempted kidnapping at RayTech back in February. She's… If we're going out, her siblings and Carl are about the only people she's around outside of school right now. Except Walter." Her blue eyes are thoughtful on the kids, and she admits, "Something about Walter just…" She shakes her head, because she honestly has no idea what it is that draws Aura.
Over on the swings, the sandy-haired pixie is laughing even as she tries to swing higher than Walter. The chains on the swings are only going to let them go to the same height, but she isn't giving up. "Lookit, Walter, I'm gonna be flyin'!" (She will if she doesn't hold on tight, that's for sure.)
"I think it's the small things like being raised the way he has, that makes him a little less… uh. Toxic, I guess. He has his days, of course. Where he just becomes a little shitnugget." Delilah stays at a conversational volume, absolutely certain she's unheard by either child. "I'm just glad he's not reached the next level of that yet. I know what other boys are like."
So of course she hopes he keeps good friends. Aura's not far behind.
"If she wants to come over sometime… hm, maybe could get Elaine and Odette to come too…?" The chains on the swings clang as the kids go up and down, chilly wind on noses carrying the laughs.
"Humans aren't made for flying, 'Ror!" Walter yelps breathlessly, feet swinging out as if to catch up to her. "I'm not very good at catching, so you better land on the dirt!" One wonders how he equates being fast enough for that, but it's best not to ask.
Elisabeth snerks out a laugh at the word shitnugget, having to cover her mouth to avoid spitting coffee. "Wow, Dee. Just wow." That is definitely a Mom, and there is zero judgement in Liz's tone — just appreciation for the fact that they are able to be honest. "I think it would be… lovely," she says quietly. "She and Aura were pretty well inseparable for their early years. Aura's known that Addie was taken… I tried to make sure she understood that maybe with everything that happened to her, Add— Odette might not remember her very well. But I think it hurts her heart."
Dragging a hand through her hair, she admits, "We can use any and all distractions." She swallows hard and confides in Delilah something she hasn't really told anyone else at all. "Richard's going out of town." The subtle emphasis tells Delilah that it's no ordinary business trip, and the bleak expression in her eyes may give away Liz's fear that it might be a one-way trip.
"People do too fly! But I know you can't catch," the little girl giggles. Aura launches herself off the swing, making Elisabeth gasp and start to bolt upright, only stopping herself by sheer dint of will. When the small girl lands on both feet and tumbles in the sand, Liz closes her eyes and breathes out at the sound of childish laughter. "Jesus Christ, she's trying to give me a fucking heart attack. That is all Cardinal genes, I swear to God." Ricky does the same kind of things!!
By virtue, Delilah knows what Out of Town could entail; something dangerous, obviously, but also something away from Elisabeth. She gives a small frown and a concerned bent of brow before following the source of apparent excitement. Walter even whoops at Aurora's stuck landing, still swinging.
"Gee, you'd think she jumped into a black hole," Delilah murmurs in the wake of the older woman's reaction. It's not just him, just saying. "You should get her into gymnastics or something, That was a landing." Impressive enough to mention. The redhead reaches up to tug the back of Liz's jacket gently, prompting her to sit back down. "Is this trip something you can tell me about, or is it that kind of trip?"
And of course now that both moms are talking again, it's Walter's turn to do a yeet off of the swingset. His landing is much less graceful, and a touch uncoordinated. Aurora's definitely better at it.
Elisabeth reaches over and shoves Delilah playfully as she resumes her seat, laughing at her. "Wench!" She can't exactly argue with that assessment! Gymnastics is a good idea for Aura — definitely something to look into. Her amusement takes away some of the darkness, though she grows a bit more somber at the question about the trip.
"It's that kind," she admits softly. Pulling in a breath, she also confesses, "I hate that he's going. I want to scream and throw shit. Beg him not to go." Her tone is soft as she watches the kids. As much as it hurts, though, she won't guilt-trip him for doing what needs done. It's not their way.
Aurora's laughter rings out again at Walter's landing and she goes to help him back to his feet. Hazel eyes seek out their moms and she casually tugs him toward the large wooden climbing structure. "C'mon! We can be good pirates an' watch out for magic storms and bad pirates! I'll do sound an' you do water, and we'll sink 'em all!"
Delilah does her best to straddle the line of being in the dark and knowing too much. Sometimes, like now, it leaves her wanting. On one hand she wants to find out, but on the other it's clearly distressing for Liz to even bring up.
"If anyone can scream and throw shit, it's you. You deserve that." Delilah tugs her teeth over her lip, eyes moving from the kids bopping from one patch of the play area to another. "Whatever he's up to, it better be as important as it sounds, or I'm going to slap him in the head. I will." Of course she will. Off the clock. "Does Aura know? The twins?"
Walter, with a smidge of height over his companion, hops his way up to the second platform of the structure. "I think all pirates are kinda bad already, aren't they? Stealing and burning and whatever?" Nevertheless, the topmost landing is treated like the captain's deck when he gets there, miming a spyglass for her sake; "No sign of enemy ships- - oh, wait- - no, just dolphins- -"
Elisabeth doesn't want to tell Delilah what she knows of what's coming — the fewer people who have to live this nightmare just waiting for the end, the better. But she offers the redhead a rueful smile tinged with bitterness. "It's always world-shattering important shit with us, right? Just… keep a good thought or a dozen for him and the group that's heading out, as always."
It's hard to be blasé about it, but Liz does her best to make it sound like any of the other things they've done. You know — big major nasty shit coming down? Must be Tuesday.
"Pirate Captain Lia and me, we saved mermaids once! And an angel too! She looked like Mummy!" It was in a dream, of course, but still! Although remembering that dream makes her pause in her climb, looking back over her shoulder at the boy. "I 'member when you helped save me and Mummy and Cassie and Unca Kain and ev'ybody from real pirates. You know there's good pirates!"
Delilah can only sigh in response to Liz; of course she knows it's some sort of earth-shattering thing, or at least something that Richard apparently equates with that. There have been a good many of these, in both hues. "I will."
"Lia who?" Walter can't help but pipe in between Aurora's spouting, wondering in his expression as he perches on the corner of the walls in his little post. "I don't know who aaany of those people are." He just laughs awkwardly, eyes a bit large. She sounds so sure, though. "You're a weirdo sometimes." is said passively, intoned with the notion that even if she's weird, that's fine with him. Walter has handled weird for a long time of his short life.
"Lia's a pirate captain in my dreams. She makes nightmares of the ocean world go 'way," she tells Walter. "She wasn't in ocean world, but I 'member it real good cuz it's where we found my nana an' where you an' Cap'n Baba Yaga saved us from drownin' on her ship." Aurora definitely has led a ridiculously *interesting* young life. "Or… well, it was you but not you cuz you were big then. But still, it was you." Just like Aunt Kaylee is still Aunt Kaylee!
Clambering up the wood structure like a little monkey, Aura yaaarrrrrrs in a high-pitched growl. "Ahoy! There's sharks in these waters an' we gotta save the dolphins!"
Unlike his mother, Walter is only peripherally exposed to things like Ocean Worlds. Still, he looks down from his perch, contemplating the words.He doesn't know any of the names, or references, but Aurora seems convinced of all of this. Okay, he'll play along.
"Oh, okay. I was big then, huh?" His eyes follow her as she makes it up to his level, and she gets a laugh from him. "Wait, wait, I saw a show once and it said dolphins were the mean ones. Which one is the good side? We can't fire on the good guys."
Aurora hisses down to him, "No, no, it's the sharks that's bad! They're tryin'a steal all the fishes that the dolphins wanna eat!" It's maybe not as colorful as Cap'n Lia made it, cuz Aura can't make dreamscapes! But playing pretend is fun! Waving an imaginary sword, she doffs an imaginary hat and calls out from the top of the slide, "There be sharks!" And she points in a direction. "Man the cannons!"
Elisabeth watches them with a half an eye and chuckles to Delilah. "I'm not sure poor Walter knows what to make of her sometimes," she admits. "She… just told him about his older self." Ugh. That might be bad. "I'm sorry?" The elder Walter's fate is one that Elisabeth holds close to her heart, hidden along with the loss of Richard's little sister and a version of Odessa.
Delilah doesn't exactly flinch when it comes to Elisabeth sharing what she can hear, but there's certainly a troubled tweak to the lines of her mouth and eyes. Her sights are on the kids, watching as Walter shrugs his way to an imaginary cannon on the tower, miming along loading it up and aiming it.
"It's okay." Don't apologize, she means. Delilah swallows once and looks away from the kids and back to Liz, expression indistinct. A lot all at once. "He's used to weird. He usually just… goes along with it. Looks like what he's doing with her." Looking at Liz still, the redhead hesitates.
"Liz…" An exhale stops at her lips, short. "I know what happened with him. I know he's…" She can feel her eyes sting already, torn. "A guy even came with Eve to return a sword. How is my house so full of sharp things?" Dee's stress cracks with a laugh, tired as it is.
Wait… what? Elisabeth jerks and looks at Delilah. "What do you mean, 'what happened with him'?" she asks slowly, pain visible in her expression. "What happened to Walter?" As far as she knows, the older Walter died in the crossing. That's all she's ever known.
"About how he died trying to get back here." Delilah looks away, quiet as her frown strengthens. "Was there something else I'm missing?" She is pretty sure that's the big one. Plus, she let Magnes hang out for however long he wanted until he was on his feet, more or less- - and Liz knows how he is. It's all a family affair, practically.
"Nevermind. I don't want to know." She is quick to dismiss it, but does add something before doing so. "He has strange dreams a lot, you know. Says some odd things sometimes, Some of them are… well… a little too on the nose. I figure that's just… how this works. With my family, and Teo's, it's kind of a recipe for crazy shit? I let him think it's just his imagination."
Elisabeth has a look of abject relief on her face and she breathes out a small sound. "God, I hope not," she murmurs in reply. I thought you—"
She trails off with the information that Walter has dreams and says odd things, her blue eyes turning toward the young boy playing pirates. Her brows pull together just a little and she absently twists her wedding band on her finger while she considers, and then she says quietly, "Delilah… if he says something that troubles you.. you know where to find me."
Glancing at her friend, Elisabeth offers a small, pained smile. "It may just be that… at those last moments, something … connected them. We all saw things, coming through on our way home. Who knows how Walter's ability maybe interacted." And she has no desire to voice aloud her instant oh shit, please God don't tell me Walter didn't die in that tunnel but is trapped instead!!!! — because obviously her brain is going to go to the wildest-case scenario, right? "Maybe he just.. gets glimpses now and then of things his other self knew or did, like some other people did that year before we got home," she offers.
Delilah knows that Liz is there, if there's something too much. She's sure that the older woman would have some insight on the matter.
"My grandad lives on some sort of alter plane, so yeah, I think 'interacted' could be an understatement. I'm glad as hell that I got… a normal gift?" Dee laughs some. Poison is normal, alright? Maybe it's the men. "Yeah, I hope it's like that. That the in-between sort of… leaks? This is all way out of my grasp but I do my fucking best."
Over at the pirate tower, Walter cranes his head to look to Aurora with a, "I'm out of ammo, what now? There's too many- -"
"Silly," Aura chides. "Now you use your water powers to wash them pirates overboard to the sharks while I use my sound powers to shake the pirate ships to bits!"
Elisabeth jerks a little and cover a laugh. "I didn't realize that's how she saw what I did…" Amid soft giggles, she tells Delilah what poor Walter has been instructed to do.
The script relayed to Delilah gets a small laugh, and a brief lean of her head against Liz's shoulder. They got lucky, somehow, in some ways. At the cannons, Walter squints for just a moment before leaping up onto the wall and turning those water powers on the pirates with what passes as a hadoken, noise included.
"Walter Trafford you get down from there I swear to God- -" Delilah shouts from the bench, having sat upright on seeing her son parkour his way to drowning pirates.
Aurora looks up sharply as Delilah yelps, appearing decidedly caught in the act. She hisses at Walter, "Watch out, Walter, it's the Dread Pirate Queen Mom! Sploosh her, 'fore she sinks us!" She waggles her fingers toward Delilah and Liz, shouting back, "You're shivering and making with the barfing, Aunt 'Lilah!" Apparently the waggling fingers are sound powers.
Elisabeth now giggles helplessly, snerking into her hand as Delilah is the parent hollering about heart attack-inducing shenanigans. "Aaaand people wonder why moms are insane," she laughs heartily.
"For real." Delilah mutters back to Liz, raising both brows as Walter plays along with Aurora instead of getting down. The stink-eye, however, seems to hit him a little at a delay, and Walter hops down as if his toes were on fire.
"I'm glad that all of this…waited til he was this old. I'm starting to wonder if it built up, though. And now he's getting new friends at school…" Dee puffs her cheeks out, "there's a new neighbor kid, a little older, I do not like him at all…" Some people would be sensitive about saying they don't like a child. Lilah not so much. She knows a little shit when she meets one.
"Oh dear," Liz continues to giggle. "Well, ya know… a mild case of barfing if he gets out of line …" she winks at Delilah, leaving deliberately vague which child she's talking about getting out of line. She wouldn't really make the neighbor kid puke, would she? … …
The wicked smile is pure mischief. Moms can be little shits too!
"We'll see, don't look so excited." Delilah pats her hand against Elisabeth's arm, laughing as she stands up. "Let's go see what kind of pirates are out there." They can play along and keep the little goofs from climbing too high.